Improvement in letter-boxes



s. s. wlLL'sAMS.

Letter-Boxes.

No.133,691. Patented nemsnsn,

faggi AM pHmo-umaslrAPf//c mmmsanwf's Psocfss) UNITED STATES PATENT GEEroE.

SAMUEL S. WILLIAMS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOISJ'ASSIGNORIO JAMES L. COLLINS AND HENRY G. BURGIE, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN LETTERBOXES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 133,691, datcd December 3, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL S.NV1LLIAus, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and'State of Illinois, have invented certain Improvements in Letter-Boxes, of which the following is a specification:

. My invention relates to improvements in street letter-boxes; and consists in a peculiar manner of constructing the body in two parts, and of attaching the doors thereto in lugs arranged to take the place of the usual hasp and staple, and in an indicator of peculiar construction, as hereinafter'described.

Figure lis a front elevation of my box, a portion of the small door or ilap being broken away in order to expose the indicator-dial.

Fig. 2is a vertical section of the same on the .line w w. Fig. 3 is a vertical central section through the indicator; and Fig. et is a view showin g one of the bearings for the small door or flap.

. `The object of my invention is to produce a box of extreme strength, simplicity, and cheapness, `which shall possess all the advantages of the more complicated and expensive boxes now in use. With this end in View I construct myentire box of but four pieces, so formed that they may be locked together by the use `v-.'Mof simply two bolts.

In proceeding tol construct my box I first cast in one piece the` body A, comprising the bottom, back, and two ends of the box, as shown. `rIhe front corners of the sides are i rounded ed', the upper edge of the back curved inward, as shown at f,.Fig. 2, and the front edge of the bottom provided with an upright iiange, i', as shown in the same figure. Having thus provided the body, I' next provide the curved top plate BV of the proper size and form to cover the top of the body and extend midwayk down its front, as shown in Figs. l

and 2. In order to secure the top in place I provide it at the rear edge with inside lugs a, which lock under the iiange f of the back, and

Vat the front with ears b, which t inside of the give additional strength to the box and exclude water therefrom. In the middle of the top plate B I form a raised portion, d, having an opening, e, in its front to permit the introduction of the mail matter.

journals or pivots cast on its ends and mounted in bearings `g, which are formed half in the edges o f the body A and half in the top plate B, as shown in Fig. 4. The door is inserted at the time the top plate is applied, so that when the latter is bolted down in place it holds the door firmly in position. I make the door much wider than the opening e, and arrange its pivots at or near its middle, and in line with the lower side of the opening, as shown, so that while the upper half of the door extends inside of the box and covers the opening its lower half closes down on the outside of the box, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The

lower outside half of the door serves as a weight to keep it closed, asa cover for the in dicator-dial, and, when the door is open, as a guard to prevent theintroduction of a persons hand or iin gers through the opening. In order to prevent the contents'of the box from being extracted by instruments inserted through the opening c I provide the inside of the door or iap with a wide rib, t, along its middle, and with a row of teeth, u, along its upper edge,` as shown in Fig. 2. In case it is attempted to remove any of the letters or other objects they will be caught and detained either by the rib or the teeth or both. In order to permit the removal of the mail matter from the box I provide it with the large de livery-door.D, which closes the front of the their inner corners'to strike against the lower edge of the plate B, and limit the outward movement of the door. The wings or plates serve, when the door is open, to prevent the contents of the box from falling out `at the Y This opening I close by means of a door or iiap, C, which has ends, the door with its wings forming a hopper to hold the mail-matter, so that it may be removed conveniently and at leisure. The wings may have their edges concentric with the center ot motion, and arranged to play closely under the edge of the top plate, as shown, so as to prevent the door from being de tached while the top is fastened down; or the edges may be made eccentric, or notched, or suiiicient room left between them and the edge of the top plate to permit the removal of the door when the top is bolted down in place.

In order to prevent water from entering around the delivery-door, its ends are provided with iianges which fit outside of the body; and the top plate is provided with a lip, w, ghicl extends out over its upper edge, as in In order to afford-a hold for the padlock of the delivery-door, and to dispense with the usual hasp and staple for that purpose, I provide the top plate B with a stud, 9', which curves downward below the upper edge of the door, and meets a corresponding stud, q, on the door, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so that the hasp or shackle of the lock may be inserted, as in Fig. 1. The hasp is supported by the stud q, and bears between stud r and the door, so as to prevent the latter from being opened. In order to allow the door to swing past the stud r, when the lock is removed, it is provided with a notch or opening, t, as shown in Fig. 2. It is obviousv that the form and arrangement of the studs may be changed as desired, provided that they aliord a hold for the lock, and that they can be cast in place.

In the top plate B, in such position as to be covered and protected by the lower part of the door or flap G, I mount a time-dial, K, provided with an adjustable pointer or hand, L, as shown in Fig. 1. The dial is mounted in a depression made for the purpose in the top plate, and is covered by a glass plate mounted in a hinged frame, M, as shown in Fig. 3. The frame is held shut by a catch, o, which extends through theplate, andvis secured by a at spring, p, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, so that when it is desired to change the dial it is only necessary'to push the spring back and turn the frame up. In order to` throw the frame up automatically when the catch is released, a spiral spring may be placed in the hinge, and connected at one end to the .frame and at the other to the body, as shown in Fig. 3. The hand or pointer is provided with a shaft or wrist, which extends through and has4 a finger-piece, t, secured to its end, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, so that the postman can readily adjust the pointer by inserting his hand through the delivery-opening and moving the linger-piece. 'The finger-piece is secured by a pin so that it may be readily detached when it is desired .to remove the hand, as when inserting a new dial.

The indicator arranged as described is cheap and simple, is readily changed and adjusted, and is well protected against injury from any cause.

In order to turn the letters or other objects downward when they are inserted, so as to prevent them from lodging in the top of the box, the top plate is provided with inclined ribs or teeth y, as shown in Fig. 2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1 1. A mail-box having its body composed of the two parts A and B, united by the lugs a and f, and the ears c having the bolts m therein, as shown and set forth.

2. The combination and arrangement of the dial K with the cover M, interior index regulator t, and spring-catch p, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The door D, when provided with the lower grooved edge, and the wings k having the projections l, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the lug o' on the body with the lug q on the delivery-door, to form an opening for the reception of a padlock and thereby dispensewith the usual hasp and staple. 1

5. The door C having its journals or pivots mounted in bearings g between the two parts of the body, substantially as shown andl described.

SA'MUEL S. WILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

L. L. BOND, 0. W. BOND. 

